Julia Hillyer of Georgetown, a regular featured artist at the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery in Waterloo, stands beside the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic championship trophy she created for the inaugural June 20-24 event at Grey Silo Golf Course. The sand-blasted and blown-glass trophy is one of 10 that Hillyer made, nine of which will be handed out to individual winners.

“I think it’s always fun to come to a new place,” said Lewis, No. 7 on the Rolex women’s world golf rankings. “We kind of get stuck in our routines — go to the same place every year, go to the same restaurants and the same hotels — so it’s nice to come some place different and experience what their community is like.

“I’m looking forward to spending more time here and seeing what the Waterloo area has to offer.”

Lewis was in town on Monday to check out Grey Silo Golf Course and by all accounts, the Sylvannia, Ohio, native was impressed by the site, which is counting down the final three weeks until the June 20-24 Manulife Financial LPGA Classic.

Final preparations are being made to host some of the top names on the tour, including Lewis, Michelle Wie, Paula Creamer and Lorie Kane. Grandstands are in place, concessions are being constructed and the recent warm weather has dried out the greens, which could mean some fast, challenging putts for pros like Lewis.

And Lewis, who won the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic a month ago in Alabama, expects to have some stiff competition for the $1.3-million purse.

The LPGA is starting an important stretch of tournaments over the next six weeks, including a pair of majors — the Wegman’s LPGA Championship on June 7-10 in Rochester, N.Y., and the U.S. Women’s Open on July 5-8 in Kohler, Wis. — that straddle the Manulife Classic and the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

With the tour enjoying an off week after the Wegmen’s LPGA Championship, about 20 of the top 25 players on the tour money list are expected the following week in Waterloo.

“This stretch of the summer is when you want to be playing your best golf,” Lewis said. “We get busy, which is good, but you have got to be playing your best golf in order to finish high on the money list. Whatever your goals are, this is the time of year to do it.

“Some people, their schedules get weird around majors and they don’t like playing before or after or whatever it is. But I think you’ll see most of the top players in the world.”

Tournament director Richard Kuypers said organizers are expecting to announce another five or six notable names next week, with the final list of players to be locked down the week before the tournament starts.

Other than that, most of the details are in order for the event.

The 1,400 tournament volunteers were prepped over the weekend while the event schedule and championship trophy, created by artist Julia Hillyer of Georgetown, was unveiled on Monday.

The week starts with a St. Mary’s Hospital Pro-Am on June 17, followed by the official tour pro-am on June 19, which will feature the top 50 players in the tournament. The first two rounds of the tournament will be televised on the Golf Channel from 4-6 p.m., while spectators can begin visiting the course starting June 20.

Kuypers said ticket sales for the event have already surpassed expectations, which was set at 50,000 spectators.

“There’s no reason why we’re not going to hit that,” he said. “I think we may even exceed it.”

For those in attendance, Lewis will likely be a player to keep an eye on. The fourth-year pro has been dubbed golf’s most inspirational player. She was diagnosed with scoliosis at the age of 11 and had career-threatening surgery to fuse a metal rod and five screws into her spine two years before winning an NCAA championship.

But last year, Lewis’s career took off when she won her first major, the Kraft Nabisco Championship, and cracked the $2-million mark in career earnings.

“I think it’s confidence,” Lewis said of her success. “Seeing your name on a leader board and knowing you can compete with the best players in the world, and beat them too, I think that’s the most encouraging part.”